Bucks County Performers to Present BEAUTY AND THE BEAST JR., 7/28 - 8/9

This April, teen performers came from throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey to participate in a rigorous audition for the much-anticipated Bucks County Playhouse Youth Company. For the first time, the Playhouse proudly offers a free, intensive, six-week musical theatre training program for young actors, culminating in two weeks of performances of Disney's Beauty and the Beast Jr. on the legendary stage at Bucks County Playhouse July 28th through August 9th.

"We wanted to create a way for talented young performers, regardless of economic status, to have access to professional performing arts training," says Hester Kamin, Director of Education. "My own life was greatly influenced by the summer I spent at the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts, and this program is modeled on the PGSA principle that when young artists are placed in a highly demanding but non-competitive atmosphere, they blossom in unexpected ways and develop confidence and self-discipline that lasts for the rest of their lives."

After a national search for the teaching artists who would helm the pilot program, the Playhouse hired two artists based here in Bucks County. "We're thrilled that the Youth Company is being led by accomplished professional artists Dr. Joseph Ohrt of CB West and Jessica Bostock of Bryn Athyn College," says Alexander Fraser, Producing Director.

Jessica Bostock will serve as Director/ Choreographer and Dr. Joseph Ohrt will serve as Musical Director.

The talented 18-person cast consists of Erik Daughterman, 14, of Langley, PA; Lisa Diaz, 13, of Southampton, NJ; Lauren Esser, 14, of Blue Bell, PA; Brandon Fean, 14, of Warminster, PA; Jonathan Fleming, 15, of Ewing, NJ; Jack Gimpel, 14, of Lafayette Hill, PA; Danielle Hirsch, 15, of Newtown, PA; Hannah Jackson, 14, of Doylestown, PA; Michelle Lieberman, 15, of Yardley, PA; Fiona Male, 15, of Doylestown PA; Taylor Marschean, 16, of Washington Crossing, PA; Hannah Mogford, 13, of Reading, PA; Grace Murray, 16, of Doylestown, PA; Michael O'Hara, 15, of Yardley, PA; Gabriel Parsons, 13, of Pennington, NJ; Bryce Ritz, 14, of Fairless Hills, PA; Kristina Taylor Del Mar, 18, of Doylestown, PA; and Elizabeth Weinman, 15, of Upper Black Eddy, PA.

Performances of Disney's Beauty and the Beast Jr. are July 28 - August 9 at Bucks County Playhouse. Due to several frightening scenes and images, children under five will not be permitted. For more information and to reserve tickets, call (215) 862-2121. Group rates available. Tickets: $8.00 for children and $12.00 for adults.

Bucks County Playhouse, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, provides the finest theatrical entertainment for visitors and residents of New Hope, Doylestown, Lambertville and the Delaware Valley. Under the direction of Robyn Goodman and Alexander Fraser, its mission is to present first class professional entertainment and regain the Playhouse's historic place in the national theatrical landscape; and to stimulate, support, inspire and celebrate the performing arts via community programs, partnerships and arts education.

Located between Philadelphia and New York, Bucks County Playhouse opened in 1939 in a converted 1790 gristmill after a group of community activists, led by Broadway orchestrator Don Walker and playwright Moss Hart, rallied to save the building. The Playhouse quickly became one of the country's most famous regional theaters, featuring a roster of American theatrical royalty including Helen Hayes, Kitty Carlisle, Colleen Dewhurst, Shirley Booth, Lillian Gish, Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, Bert Lahr, Walter Matthau, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Alan Alda, Tyne Daly, Liza Minnelli and Audra McDonald and remained in continuous operation until December 2010. In 2012, the Playhouse re-opened thanks to the efforts of the Bridge Street Foundation, the nonprofit family foundation of Kevin and Sherri Daugherty, and Broadway producer Jed Bernstein. Terrence McNally's Mothers and Sons, starring Tyne Daly, received its world premiere at the Playhouse in 2013 and opened on Broadway in February 2014, where it was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. This returned the Playhouse to its roots as an incubator for Broadway, including 1951′s The Fourposter starring Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, Neil Simon's first play Come Blow Your Horn, and Barefoot in the Park starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley.

The Bucks County Playhouse is located at 70 South Main Street in New Hope, PA.

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